Budget, Debt, and Deficits

In September 2008, when Chinese President Hu Jintao got word that Lehman Brothers, then the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank, was on the verge of bankruptcy, he was traveling by van along the bumpy roads of Shaanxi Province. Surrounded by policy advisers and members of the Politburo, Hu asked them how China should respond to the inevitable spillover.

Five years after the onset of its sovereign debt crisis, Greece once again finds itself on the precipice of default and a departure from the nineteen-member eurozone. This reading list provides expert background and analysis of the crisis.

Renewing America

While a last-minute deal was able to raise the U.S. debt ceiling ahead of default, global investors are frustrated by the unnecessary brush with crisis and by the culture of U.S. political brinkmanship. The long-term impact on U.S. treasuries is unclear.

Renewing America

Potential political gridlock over raising the country's debt ceiling could threaten to delay progress on reducing the country's debt and rattle international confidence in the U.S. economy, experts say.

Renewing America

The presidential commission on reducing the U.S. deficit fell short of the vote needed to advance to Congress, but analysts said it indicated some bipartisan backing for crucial cuts that would address the country's threatening debt picture.

Following the financial mayhem of 2008, world policymakers are planning an ambitious program of economic stimulus spending for 2009. Economists say the success of these measures will rely on timely, targeted implementation, and temporary mandates.

Renewing America

Benn Steil's article in the Spring/Summer edition of the CATO Journal argues that restraining excessive debt accumulation will require significant changes in the U.S. corporate taxation regime and the principles underlying the conduct of U.S. monetary policy.

CFR Experts Guide

The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.

The authors argue that the United States has responded inadequately to the rise of Chinese power and recommend placing less strategic emphasis on the goal of integrating China into the international system and more on balancing China's rise.

Campbell evaluates the implications of the Boko Haram insurgency and recommends that the United States support Nigerian efforts to address the drivers of Boko Haram, such as poverty and corruption, and to foster stronger ties with Nigerian civil society.

2014 Annual Report

Learn more about CFR’s mission and its work over the past year in the 2014 Annual Report. The Annual Report spotlights new initiatives, high-profile events, and authoritative scholarship from CFR experts, and includes a message from CFR President Richard N. Haass.Read and download »